Combination spring support and spanner



Nov. 18, 1958 F. J. RIE-BEL 2,860,693

COMBINATION SPRING SUPPORT AND SPANNER Filed Jan. 14, 1957 ssheets-sheet 2 5&5/196. 7

Nov. 18, 1958 F. J. RIE-:BEL

COMBINATION SPRING SUPPORT AND SPANNER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 14,1957 United States Patent() COMBINATION SPRING SUPPORT AND SPANNER FredJ. Riebel, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Fred Riebel and Company, Chicago,Ill.

Application January 14, 1957, Serial No. 634,117

15 Claims. (Cl. 155-179) The present invention relates generally to theupholstery and furniture manufacturing fields. l Specifically theinvention is embodied in a combination spring support and Spanner whichhas a wide variety of applications in the manufacture of bedding, sofas,chairs, upholstered furniture, and the like.

In recent years a wide usage has been accorded an arched convoluted wirespring. rl`hese springs are used as base springs in sofas, stools, andeven in beds to underlie the coil springs. To mount the arched springsto the associated furniture frames various types of clips are employedat each end of the springs. The clips are individually nailed to woodenside frames by hand. This, of course, is a time consuming process and,in addition, does not add to the strength of the unit. Also, Such aStructure makes a heavy wooden frame an essential.

With the foregoing in mind, it is the general object of the presentinvention to furnish a combination spring support and Spanner whichreduces the cost of the finished item of furniture while at the sametime increasing its quality.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination springSupport and Spanner which facilitates the inexpensive construction ofall metal furniture. A further object of the invention is `to furnish acombination spring support and Spanner which is adaptable to a widevariety of applications in many different types and styles of furniture.

Still another object of the invention is to make possible themanufacture of upholstered furniture in` which the role of the woodenframe is reduced to providing a tacking Strip and shaping the unitrather than furnishing all of the structural Strength as done inconventional furniture manufacture.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the following description of an illustrative embodimentproceeds, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a top view of a couch back frame employing an illustrativeSpanner spring support `as the foundation for the finished upholsteredunit.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view in enlarged scale of the couch frameshown in Fig. 1 taken along section line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a bottom View of a single spring support and Spanner with anassociated spring in assembled relationship shown to the same scale asFig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an end view of the Spanner spring support shown in Fig. 3 buti'n an enlarged scale.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective View of the mounting tab of theSpanner spring suppo-rt.

Fig. 6 iS a broken plan View of a couch seat showing the cooperativerelationship between the illustrative Spanner Spring support, theassociated convoluted spring, and the superposed coil spring.

Fig. 7 is a bro-ken sectional View of the couch seat shown in Fig. 6taken along section line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged partially broken `end view of the 2,860,693Patented Nov. 1s, 195s ice spring support and Spanner as shown in Fig. 7illustrating the cooperative relationship between the convoluted springand coil Spring at the mounting tab portion of the illus trative springsupport and Spanner.

Fig. 9 is a partial sectional view similar to Fig. 7 but Showing analternative side frame construction with which the illustrative SpringSupport and Spanner may be used.

Fig. l() is a front elevation of a modified embodiment of thecombination spring and Spanner.

Fig. 11 is a top view in enlarged scale of the` end of the `modifiedspring and Spanner combination.

Fig. l2 is an end view of the corner section Shown in Fig. 11.

Figs. 13, 14, and 15 are diagrammatic illustrations in front elevationof the assembly of the modified spring and Spanner constructionillustrating respectively the spring and Spanner components, insertingthe spring in the Spanner, and bending the spring to Shape in theSpanner.

A basic illustration of an exemplary embodiment of the invention appearsin Figs. l to 3 of the drawings. A modified embodiment of the inventionappears in Figs. 10 through l5 of the drawings. There it will be seenthat an arched convoluted spring `is secured by a member which serves asa Spanner as well as a mount for the spring. The invention stems fromthe discovery of a structure which serves this twofold purpose of aspring support and structural Spanner.

The details of the illustrative Spring support Spanner 10 will be betterunderstood after first reviewing one practical application. Referringnow to Fig. l, it will be seen that the frame or backbone 11 for a couchback or Similar construction has been shown. The perimeter of the frame11 is made up of wooden side members 12 secured at their ends by woodencross members 14. In practice an ordinary wooden 2 X 2 may serve as theframe members 12, 14. The Spring support Spanner 10 in combination 4withan associated convoluted arched spring 15 are secured betweenthe sidemembers 12 of the frame 11 at spaced intervals. The mounting tabs 16 atthe ends of the spring support Spanner 10 are nailed or otherwisesecured in place on the wooden frame. The resultant construction issubstantially stronger than one in which the convoluted Springs 15 aresecured to the wooden frame Side `members 12 by means of independentmetal clips. t In such a construction it is often necessary to addadditional Wooden cross members in between the two end members 14. Inthe construction shown, however, the spring support Spanner 10 serves toamply Strengthen the unit at each location of the convoluted spring 15.

As Will be seen in discussing the detailed construction of the springsupport Spanner 10, it is susceptible of manufacture from a single pieceof sheet stock. Referring now to Figs. 2 through 5, it will be seen thatthe spring supportv Spanner 10 is made up of a body portion 18 in theform of an inverted channel having parallel side legs 19 and a channelbase portion 20. The two ends 21 of the body portion 18 are turnedupwardly so that the base 20 of the channel forms a radius 22 and thenextends at a right angle with the `base of the channel body 18.

A unique mounting tab 16 extends from the ends 21 of the body portion18. The mounting tabs 16 `are rectangular in shape and are punched withfastening holes 24 at convenient locations. A recessed spring mountingnotch 25 (see Fig. 5) is formed immediately beneath the tab 16 andcontemplates the removal of the extreme end portion of the side flanges19 of the body channel 18. The spring abutting area 26 is defined on theface of the end portion 21 of the channel body 18 between the mountingtab 16 and the base 28 of the mounting notch 25. A coil spring hook 29is formed at the outer` edge 3i)- of the irrio'n'nting 'tab'n16"by'rpi'xn'ching or otherwise angling upwardly a central portion ofthe mounting tab 16.

As will be seen, particularly, in Fig. 4, the convoluted spring. 15 hasa hookedfend por/:tion 31V whichis inserted in the mounting notch- 2S.and abuts against the supporting area 26 of the channel' body end21.The spring support spanner 10 is so proportioned that the convolutedspring 15, when in assembled, relationship, exerts ya compressive forceagainst the two ends 21 of the channel body.18. Because the tiangedportions y19 of the channel turn downwardly, the spanner bodylS. readilyresiststhis compressive force while simultaneously securely locking aconvoluted spring15 tothe spring supportspanner 10; The shoulder` 28 ofthe n iountingy notch 25 is of lsufficient length to prevent theconvoluted spring 15 from becoming dislodged-when flexedeven down to aposition parallel with they base portionof. the channelbody 18.

v In the event a maximum compressive load resistance isV desiredfrom`thespring 10, it has Vbeen discovered thatv can be achieved by turningthe spring ends inwardly at the detent 25 and abutting the lengthenedspring; end 45 on the upper portion ofthe channel `body 18. asillustrated in Fig. lO. The eifect of this construction isto torsionallydistort the. detent length 4,6.of the spring 15 withv a consequentpartial torsional deformation of the adjacent U-shaped ends 48; The. end49.of the spring 15- isrmly planted on the upper portion of the ,channelbody 18, rather than within the detent 25 as shownr in the em-` bodimentdiscused above. The effectiveA length of` the spring, that is, thelength between the detentsremainsy the same even though the overalllengthgof the spring is increased. It has been found intest thatrepeatedexing will not break the spring when the endsare reversely foldedformounting. In addition, a veryv substantial increase inthe compressiveload required to deflect the.

spring 15 down to the Achannel body 18 has been observed.

In order to more clearly appreciate the assembly, which in productionkis facilitated by suitable tooling, reference may be had to Figures 13to l5. There it will be seen thatthe spring 15 exceeds Somewhat thetotal length ofy the spanner 10 beyond themounting tabs 16. The ends49.of the. spring 15 areformed in they samemannerl as theembodimentdiscussed above, the principal diiference being inthe length ofthespring 15. Normally the additional length is one and onehalfvconvolutions: of the spring at each end, butthis may vary. Thespringr15 is then angled obliquely with the spanner 10 as. illustratedin Fig. 14,- one of thecrosspieces 46 of the spring being inserted inthedetent 25. The spring is then bentover as illustrated in Fig.l-torsionally stressing the detent length 46 and* its adjacent curvedportions 48. The other end of the spring is similarly folded back upon.itselffby the use of suitable. tools in order to efectthe configurationillustrated in Fig. 10. Thus, without Iany changev in the basic design,the spanner 'is adaptable toa different unique.I spring arrangementwiththe unexpected improved characteristic of substantiallyincreasedcompressive load resistance.

Not only does the unique construction of. the spring support spanner 10lend itself to advantageous use. with a convoluted spring 15, but by useof the unique mounting tab- 29, a coil spring assembly 32 may besuperposed over the convoluted springs as is customarily done in thebetter grade sofas and bed constructions.

Referring now to Fig. 7,v it will be seen that the individual4 coils 34of the couch spring assembly 32 haver agenerally circular bottom coil35. At tangent 36 to the outer periphery of the base coil 35 themounting tab 29 isengaged to the wire to the base coil 35. The mountingtab 29 may then be tapped lightly with a hammer to securely hold itsbase .coil 35 in assembled relation. This, in turn, anchors the coilspring assembly 35 to the frame.

As'pointed outv earlier, another'unique featureA ofthe spring supportspanner 10 is that it enables the construction of allv metal furniturevon an inexpensive modular basis. As will be seen in Figs. 6 and 7, themounting tabs 16 have been secured to a metal runner 38 which has anassociated wooden nailing strip 39. The metal member 38 provides theprincipal support for the furniture, the wooden nailing strip39 servingonly to engage upholstery nails or staples. Y

Referring now to Fig. 9, it will be seen thata different channelrunner.40 may be similarly employed as an end runner and secured to themounting tab 19 of the spring support spanner 10. In the constructionshown in Fig. 9, the upholstery is` drawn up aroundthek bottom of thechannel member `4t).

In review, it will be seen that a basic framework for a sofa, or atypical back, such as shown in Fig. 1, or a typical seat, such Ias shownin Fig. 6, may be readily assembled by using the spring support spannerillustrated.

The spanner 10 servesV the two-fold purpose off securelylocking theconvoluted spring 15 firmly in position so` support spanner 10 may beformed from a single sheetA of stock, it is susceptibleV of inexpensivefabrication byy mass production techniquesy making possible the fasterassembly of a higher quality completed yitem of furniture.

AlthoughV a particular embodiment of the invention yhas.

been shown and described in full here, there is no inten-V tion tothereby limit theinvention to the detailsofsuch embodiment. On'thecontrary, theintention istocover all modifications, alternativeembodiments, usages and equivalents of the .combination spring supportand spanner as` fall within the spirit and scope of the invention,specication and appended claims.

This application and its claims are a continuation-inpart of a priorpatent application Serial Number 580,895, tiled April26, 1956i, nowabandoned.

I claim` as my invention:

1. A combination spring support and spanner unit for use. with an archedspring having transverse end hook portions, the unit being characterizedby an elongate spanner portion in the shape of an inverted channel,upturned end portions at each end o f the spanner, the end portionsbeing a continuation of the spanner channel section, outwardly`extending mounting tabs extendingl from the. terminals of the upturnedend portions, mounting means on the mounting tabs for securing the tabs.to a preselected structural member, anda notch defined -at theintersection ofthe mounting tab and upturned end portions proportionedto receive and hold the transverse hooked endsof arched spring.`

2,. A combination spring support and spannery unity-for use with`aconvoluted arched spring formed from a conf tinuous length of wire,the spring having transverse hooked end portions, the unit beingcharacterized by an elongate spanner portion in the shape of an invertedchannel, upturned end portions at each end of the spanner, the` endportions being a continuation of the spanner channel section, outwardlyextending mounting tabs extending from the terminals of theend portionsparallel with the spanner portion, mounting means on the mount- Iingtabs for securing the tabs to apreselected structural member, a springretaining notch defined at the intersection of the mounting tab and endportions proportioned to receive and hold the hooked ends oftheconvoluted arched. spring, and coil spring mountingmeans on thespannerv mounting tabs.

3. A combination spring support and spanner unit for use .with aconvoluted arched spring formed from acon- 'tinuous length of wire, thespring having transverse hookedend portions, the unitbeingwcharacterized by,an

elongate Spanner channel portion, downturned flanges forming the edgesof the channel, upturned end portions at each end of the Spanner. theend portions being a continuation of the Spanner channel, with thechannel edge flanges disposed outwardly, outwardly extending mountingtabs extending from the terminals of the upturned end portions, mountingmeans on the mounting tabs for securing the tabs to a preselectedstructural member, and a notch dened in the outwardly disposed tlangesat the intersection of the mounting tab and end portions proportioned toreceive and hold the hooked ends of the convoluted arched spring.

4. A spring support and Spanner for use in furniture manufacture, theSpanner being characterized by a body portion having upturned endportions and mounting tabs extending outwardly from the upturned ends,the body having a downwardly oriented channel section and the endportions having outwardly facing channel sections, the spring supportbeing characterized by a detent in the body ends at the intersection ofthe mounting tabs and end portions.

5. A spring support and Spanner for use with a convoluted spring havingtransverse end portions, the Spanner being characterized by a bodyportion having upturned end portions and mounting tabs extendingoutwardly from the upturned ends, the spring support being characterizedby a detent in the body upturned ends at the intersection of themounting tabs and end portions.

6. A spring support and Spanner for use with an arched spring havingtransverse mounting portions at the ends, the Spanner beingcharacterized by a body portion of channel section, upturned endportions on the body portion, mounting tabs extending outwardly from theupturned ends, the spring support being characterized by a notch in thebody ends at the intersection of the mounting tabs and end portions.

7. A spring support and Spanner comprising, in combination, an elongatebody portion, the body portion having downwardly disposed flanges deninga channel section, upturned ends on the body portion with channelflanges disposed outwardly, mounting tabs extending outwardly from theterminals of the upturned ends, and notches defined at the intersectionof the outwardly turned anges and the mountingtabs.

8. A combination spring support and Spanner, the Spanner beingcharacterized by an elongate body portion terminating in upturned ends,spring retaining means on the upturned ends, and a convoluted elongatespring spanning the area between the body ends and reversely bent at theretaining means, the spring ends abutting the Spanner body therebysecuring the spring to the Spanner and imparting an increasedcompressive resistance to the spring.

9. A combination spring support and Spanner, the Spanner beingcharacterized by an elongate body portion terminating in upturned ends,tabs on the upturned ends for mounting the Spanner onto frame runners, aspring detent associated with each tab, and a convoluted elongate Springspanning the area between the body ends and reversely bent at thedetent, the spring ends abutting the Spanner body thereby securing theSpring to the Spanner and thereby imparting an increased compressiveresistance to the spring.

10. An upholstery spring and Spanner assembly to traverse a pair offrame members comprising, in combination, an elongate convoluted springreversely bent at its end portions, a Spanner body approximating the 11.An upholstery spring and Spanner assembly comprising, in combination, aSpanner yhaving a channel Section running the effective length of thespring, upturned ends on the channel, mounting tabs extending from theupturned ends parallel to the channel Section, and a detent beneath eachtab to receive a portion of the spring when the Spring is reversely bentat its ends so that the spring ends abut the upper portion of theSpanner channel section.

12. A combination spring support and Spanner comprising, in combination,an elongate spring reversely bent at its end portions, an elongateSpanner, and securing means on the ends of the Spanner serving tocooperate with the Spanner in securing the reversely bent spring ends onthe Spanner.

13. A combination spring Support and Spanner unit comprising, incombination, an arched spring having `reversely bent end portions, anelongate Spanner portion in the shape of an inverted channel, upturnedend portions at each end of the Spanner, the end portions .being acontinuation of the Spanner channel Section, outwardly extendingmounting tabs extending from the terminals of the upturned end portions,mounting means on the mounting tabs for securing the tabs to apreselected structural member, and a notch dened at the intersection ofthe mounting tab and upturned end portions proportioned to receive andhold the reversely bent ends of the arched spring. p

14. A combination spring support and Spanner unit comprising, incombination, an arched spring having reversely bent ends, an elongateSpanner portion in the shape of an inverted channel, upturned endportions at each end of the Spanner, the end portions being acontinuation of the Spannerl channel section, outwardly extendingmounting tabs extending from the terminals of the end portions parallelwith the Spanner portion, mounting means on the mounting tabs forsecuring the tabs to a preselected structural member, a spring retainingnotch deiined at the intersection of the mounting tab and end portionsproportioned to receive and hold the reversely bent ends of the archedspring.

15. A combination spring Support and Spanner unit comprising, incombination, an arched spring formed from a continuous length ofconvoluted wire, the Spring having reversely bent end portions, anelongate Spanner channel portion, downturned flanges forming the edgesof the channel, upturned end portions at each end of the Spanner, theend portions being a continuation of the Spanner channel, with thechannel edge flanges disposed outwardly, outwardly extending rnountingtabs extending from the terminals ofthe upturned end portions, mountingmeans on the mounting tabs for securing the tabs to a preselectedstructurall member, and means defined in the outwardly disposed flangesat the intersection of the mounting tab and end portions proportioned toreceive and hold the reversely bent ends of the convoluted archedSpring.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,164,535 Lewis Dec. 14, 1915

